Welcome to DSS-II

It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 2nd Diabetes Surgery Summit (DSS-II), September 28-30, 2015 in London, England, one of the most important scientific events of 2015.

A significant body of evidence has accumulated, including several randomized clinical trials, demonstrating that bariatric/metabolic surgery can achieve excellent control of hyperglycemia and reduce cardiometabolic risk in patients with diabetes. Research on the mechanisms of action of these procedures has also revealed a critical role of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in glucose metabolism, providing a biological rationale for the use of GI-based interventions in the treatment of T2DM.

Despite increasing recognition of the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of metabolic surgery, this potentially life-saving approach has not yet been fully integrated in the treatment algorithm of type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, the practice of traditional bariatric surgery is entirely shaped around obesity and weight reduction; as such, it is not coherent with the principles and standards of diabetes care. There are also no strategies yet for the integration of complementary pharmaceutical and surgical therapies to optimize outcomes of diabetes management.

The aim of the 2nd Diabetes Surgery Summit -DSS-II- is to assist leading diabetes organizations in the development of guidelines that integrate medical and surgical therapies in a rational treatment algorithm for T2DM. Specific goals include providing guidance for the selection of surgical candidates and for the use of diabetes-specific measures in the preoperative workup and follow-up of patients. The DSS-II also aims at designing an agenda of research priorities and health policy initiatives that ensure equitable access to surgery when indicated.

Through a rigorous consensus development process based on current, high quality evidence, a multidisciplinary group of international authorities in the field of endocrinology, internal medicine, nutrition and surgery, including official representatives of major diabetes organizations, will develop evidence-based guidelines and recommendations. A draft with proposed guidelines and their supporting evidence will then be presented during dedicated plenary sessions of the 3rd World Congress on Interventional Therapies of Type 2 Diabetes in London, UK on Sept 28-30, 2015. There, they will be critically discussed by other thought leaders in the field and open to input by the audience at large to measure the degree of agreement for each proposal. On the last day of the congress, the expert group will define the final consensus document that is designed to inform general practitioners, physicians, surgeons and policy makers.

On behalf of the organizing committee, we cordially invite you to attend the DSS-II and 3rd World Congress and actively participate in a seminal event that will lay the foundation of modern, multimodality care of diabetes.